Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Reid for his question; I know his interest in fair workplaces.

The budget we heard on Tuesday night outlined our plans for fairer workplaces. We are investing in job-creating, productivity-building workplaces. We are making sure that we train our workforce of the future. We are making sure that we give a hand up for unemployed people to help them back into work. We are making sure that disabled people get a fair go all-round. We are tackling the scourge of asbestos and the scourge of workplace bullying.

Labor has plans—fair plans—for workplaces in Australia. We have a smarter, stronger, fairer approach to Australian workplaces, but there is a clear choice as the member for Reid alluded to in his question, because there is an alternative plan for Australia's workplaces. We saw the cat out of the bag last Thursday when the opposition proposed the sly, sneaky and stealthy reintroduction of unfair individual contracts. And on Monday we heard the retailers rub their hands in glee: if the Liberals get in, the good times roll on for Work Choices. Then, on Tuesday the hoteliers had a crack. They said they would pop their champagne corks; they said, 'Fantastic, we can tackle penalty rates'.

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